


and suddenly all the love songs were about you

by darkdisrepair



Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Actors, F/F, as slow of a burn as i can handle, nora/charlie brotp, the actual show plot is not important, they play random characters i made up
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-13
Updated: 2019-03-28
Packaged: 2019-10-09 14:04:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 14,490
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17408270
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/darkdisrepair/pseuds/darkdisrepair
Summary: charlie's the newest cast member of the legends of tomorrow. it's not as easy as she thought, coming into an already established cast. there's a lot of history, and baggage, to be found there. but they're not the only ones- charlie has a few demons of her own.follow our favorite shapeshifter as she navigates being the new girl, makes friends with her cast mates, and... falls in love?





	1. this is the beginning (of anything you want)

**Author's Note:**

> hopefully this all makes sense, i've just been kind of hammering this out. i want to draw this out as long as possible, and hope you stick around for the ride! don't expect too much, i am sometimes very inconsistent but I REALLY LIKE WHAT I'VE DONE and have some fun events planned for these lovely beans in the future so yeah :) enjoy!

Standing in her trailer for the first time, it was hard to believe that Charlie was finally here, on set, for _Legends of Tomorrow._ It felt like she’d been waiting for a lifetime for an opportunity like this, for a show this popular, for a role that she loved as much as this one.

It felt like a breath of fresh air, having a job again after months of auditions and temp jobs. Charlie was on the verge of giving up when the people from the CW called her back to offer her the role of Samara- really, the only one she’d wanted in the first place. There was something so alluring about being able to play someone who could alter history with one flick of the wrist.

At least her character had control over her life.

Charlie flopped into the cushy chair in front of her mirror. On the desk, someone had placed a call sheet for the day, which listed the times she had to be where. It looked like today she would be with the whole cast, filming the last scene of the first episode.

Great.

She hadn’t met any of them- while Sara had been in touch over text, most of the cast members had been busy with filming and attending SDCC. Sara had reached out to give her some pointers and welcome her to the show, but even she hadn’t gone into much detail.

Today was bound to be interesting.

Charlie knew what was going on in the show, and even what was going on with the fan base- she liked being up-to-date on her research. She’d watched every episode multiple times, and had done her fair share of binge-watching YouTube interviews, too. It looked like the cast had a tight bond.

Which was good, but also extremely dangerous. The cast, and the fans,  would either love Charlie, or hate her. From what she’d gathered from Twitter, the fans were _not_ happy about the exit of Amaya Jiwe from the cast, even though she’d cited family complications as her reason for leaving.

These were difficult waters to tread, and Charlie knew it.

After hanging around in her trailer for a while, scrolling (or stalking) on Instagram, there was a knock on Charlie’s trailer door. She opened it cautiously- from her previous experiences in other casts, not all people who came to a trailer were there for the right reasons.

But it was just a manager.

“I’m here to come get you, it’s hair and makeup time.”

“Lovely,” Charlie quipped, stepping out of her cool, dark trailer and into the bright Star City sunshine. She followed the manager through the mess of white trailers until they reached one in particular that seemed to be hopping with activity.

Inside, there was a whole slew of people, spritzing and primping. There sat Sara, Nathaniel, Ray, and Zari, all getting their makeup and hair done.

Heads turned when the door opened, and the trailer fell silent, including all of the makeup artists and actors. Charlie took a deep breath, holding her head high as she strode into the remaining empty seat next to Zari, with only a nod to Sara as she passed.

“Well, don’t let me interrupt,” Charlie commented dryly. With that, everyone turned hurriedly back to their own tasks, and the noise in the trailer came back up to a dull roar. Someone was playing music through a speaker, to which the other cast members were bobbing their heads to.

A petite, grey-haired woman came up to Charlie with a bright smile on her face, wielding a fistful of makeup brushes. “I’m Nancy, I’m going to be your hair and makeup stylist while you’re on the show. I’m so thrilled you’re here, darling. Now, if you’ll just lean back, I’ll take good care of you. No need to fret about a hair.”

No one should be that cheerful this early in the morning, Charlie thought. Even so, she couldn’t help but close her eyes and relax into the chair. Nancy was extremely gentle, and efficient, too. She seemed to know just what to do, the right shades of makeup to pick, and how to apply eyeliner even though people were constantly moving past her to get to the drawers of makeup behind her. She didn’t even pull on Charlie’s hair like her old hair stylist used to. Her touch was more gentle, like a feather instead of a dagger.

Looked like things were finally beginning to shape up. In the makeup department, at least. That was a start. It could have been worse, Charlie thought. She could get used to this- the faint lemon scent of the hairspray, the quiet classic rock playing the background, the warm voices that faded to a murmur in the seats next to her.

It seemed like no time had passed when Charlie was pulled out of her reverie. “You might want to sit up now, sweetie,” Nancy told her, with a pat on the shoulder. “Management’s here. Looks like they’re gonna make an announcement.”

Charlie sat up.

“Since most of you are all here, sans the Time Bureau and evils, I’ll make these announcements and reminders now while you have nothing better to do. Today is our first day of filming, and I’d like to get everything done on the list early.”

“Once you’re done here, you’ll report to the Waverider stages. This shot may take some time, so be prepared. Afterward, we’ll split off into separate groups…”

The manager listed off the other actors. Charlie knew that the Waverider scene was really the only thing she had to do before going home- most of her time onscreen in this episode was going to be at the end, so she didn’t actually have much to film for the next week and a half.

Which would be nice.

The manager left, and everyone stood up. Charlie looked over at Nancy.

“You’re all set, darling,” she said, hugging Charlie tightly. “Have fun out there. Not every day is your first day with the Legends.”

“Thanks,” Charlie said a little awkwardly, and extracted herself from Nancy’s admittedly soothing embrace. “You… you have a good day too.”

Ray fell into step beside Charlie as they walked out. “Nancy is a bit much sometimes, but she’s nice,”  he said. “And she’s good at makeup.”

“I noticed the ‘bit much’ part. Is she always like that?”

“Only if she really likes you. Looks like you’ve already won her over.”

Charlie didn’t say anything as they climbed into the golf cart that would take them to set.

“Where are my manners? I’m Ray, I-”

“I know who you are,” Charlie tried her hardest not to roll her eyes. But honestly, did Ray actually think she didn’t know who he was? “Ray Palmer. I’ve done my research.”

“Ah.”

There were a few moments of blessed silence, as the golf cart started up and they began whirring through the maze of trailers, in the direction of the huge set of studios that loomed in front of them. Charlie’s stomach started to churn, as much as she tried to pretend it wasn’t.

“Nervous?” Ray asked. “You look a little pale. When we get there, I’ll introduce you to the people at crafty. They make excellent coffee, and with a drop of butter, you should be good for the whole day. There are numerous benefits to-”

“Not a huge coffee drinker,” Charlie said, just to shut Ray up. This wasn’t helping. In fact, Ray’s chattering was grating on Charlie’s nerves. He was like an annoying gnat in her ear- and even though he was nice, she really didn’t want to have to make conversation about carbohydrates and monosaccharides this early in the morning. At least he wasn’t giving her the death stare, for now.

At least he wasn’t like the people at Charlie’s old show.

Charlie’s musings were interrupted by Ray. Again. “Tea, then? I hear you Brits do love your tea. And tea has some great health benefits, too, especially of the herbal variety. I’ve heard that green tea can-”

She inwardly groaned. Of course she would get on the golf cart with Ray, who loved spouting sciency crap about food that Charlie frankly didn’t even really care about the nutrition facts for. She just wanted to get to set, and get all the introductions over with.

At least Ray seemed to like her. Or at least like talking to her about how ‘jasmine tea can unclog your pores’ or whatever.

She just prayed that the other cast members were a bit more… chill.

* * *

 

**instagram:**

**_charlieeeee:_ ** _first day on set with @raypalmer and his obsession with butter in coffee. #whyisthisathing_

_July 17, 2018_

**_tagged:_ ** _raypalmer, cw_legendsoftomorrow_ _  
_ **_location:_ ** _star city, canada_

 **_liked by:_ ** _amayajiwe, raypalmer, and 15,821 others._


	2. someone to face the day with (make it through all the rest with)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> charlie gets to know the legends more, in so many ways.

Over the next few weeks, Charlie learned that most of the cast members were, in fact, a little more chill than Ray. In some ways, they were less chill, but in some they were actually tolerable. Charlie found herself naturally gravitating to some of the cast more than the rest of the cast.

There was Mick, who was admittedly a little intimidating at first. But after a while, and a few incidents where he caught Charlie off guard, he seemed to soften a little when he realized why she was so defensive. He helped her in his own way, sitting with her on the dark set when not many other people were around, even going so far as to walk her to her trailer at night, when they finished filming long past a sane hour.

If there was one person in the cast who understood what Charlie was going through, it was Nora Darhk. While they didn’t share many scenes in the first week or two, she invited Charlie over for drinks one night, just to get to know each other better.

Charlie knew Nora’s history- it was practically common knowledge, even for people who weren’t fans of the show. She knew what happened between Nora and her father, Damien Darhk: how he ended up getting her mother killed, how he sent Nora away because he didn’t have time to parent her, how, when she got the job on _Legends,_ he blackmailed her and stalked her.

She knew how, in the middle of last year, Nora, driven to the edge by her father, had tried to commit suicide. Yes, if there was anyone who could relate the most to Charlie’s situation, it was Nora.

And Sara, while she certainly did lack chill in many departments, was someone Charlie could respect. Her sense of purpose and drive was enviable- so was the way she could command a room. She knew what she wanted, and who her character was, to the point where the director would even let her make some of the artist decisions herself.

And she was honest. She told Charlie exactly what to expect, without sugarcoating what was going on. She even went as far to admit her own faults in front of others.

Anyone who could recognize their imperfections was some that Charlie could get along with. And Sara was certainly someone who knew that she wasn’t perfect.

Zari, on the other hand, was a different story.

From the moment they met on set that first day, Zari went out of her way to avoid Charlie. She didn’t talk to her unless absolutely necessary, and even some of their exchanged lines were spoken with such force and vehemence that even the director was forced to do another take. Even when they weren’t on set, every word Zari directed at Charlie had a double meaning.

Some people didn’t pick up on it, but Charlie certainly did.

Charlie had always been good at reading people, and she knew just by shaking hands with Zari that it was not going to be easy to get to know this girl. Clearly, Amaya Jiwe had been _someone_ to her. And it looked like she was in the party of people who resented the fact that Amaya had left and Charlie had been hired- she  could tell from the moment she met Zari, from the bitterness in those silky, chocolate brown eyes to the narrowed eyebrows.

But this, she could deal with. It could be worse. At least, Charlie told herself, it was just Zari. It could be worse. She’d seen worse. She’d experienced worse, trapped in that hellhole of a show-

She shook her head. She couldn’t let herself slip into that _place_ again. She couldn’t deal with the constant fear, always checking behind her back, always locking her trailer door.

Zari could compare her to Amaya all she wanted. Charlie wasn’t about to let one person ruin this wonderful dream.

But she couldn’t deny that it hurt a little bit, every time Zari switched tables at lunch even though Charlie was sitting with Sara and most of the other Legends. She couldn’t deny that it bothered her, that Zari always sat the farthest away from her at cast parties, or avoided running lines with her even though the rest of the cast was doing it.

“Hey, Charlie, we’re having dinner tonight at Ava’s place,” Sara said, calling through Charlie’s trailer door. “Coming?”

Charlie weighed the offer in her mind. Zari would be there, which meant an evening of death stares and barbed remarks. But so would Nora.

 _Why the hell not?_ She wasn’t about to let Zari Tomaz get the way of her making friends with the rest of the Legends. She could deal with annoyed looks. It wasn’t like looks could kill.

“I’ll be there.”

“Great, see you then,” Sara answered.

* * *

 

A few hours later, Charlie stepped inside Ava’s apartment. Unsurprisingly, it was neat, well-organized, and, of course, aesthetically arranged. She could tell from the moment she walked in the door that every little knick-knack and painting had been carefully chosen to fit the apartment vibe. If she had been challenged to pick Ava’s apartment out from a whole slew of random options, Charlie could almost bet that she would be able to do it.

“Welcome,” Ava said with a smile. “You can put your shoes by the door, or keep them on, either is fine.”

“I, er, brought some whiskey,” Charlie said, after she’d kicked off her shoes and stacked them by the others. She hoisting the bag in the air for Ava to see. “Where-”

“You can put it on the counter when you go in. Right now we’re just hanging out, we’ll start dinner as soon as Nora and Mona get done with filming.”

Of course Nora, the only person Charlie really felt comfortable with, wasn’t here yet. Maybe Zari wouldn’t be here yet, though, Charlie thought as she walked down the hallway and into the main living space.

_Bollocks._

Zari was already there, leaning against the counter, reusable water bottle in hand, chatting to Nate. She turned when she heard footsteps, only to roll her eyes when she saw it was just Charlie.

“So, what do you think so far?” Sara asked as Charlie sat down in the beanbag chair opposite. Not long after, Ava joined Sara on the couch. Instantly, Sara draped her legs across Ava’s lap. But she didn’t seem to mind. “Of the cast?”

“It’s chill,” Charlie said, shrugging. “A different vibe, but I like it.”

“Have you been in shows much like Legends?” Ava asked curiously, as she sipped her water. “Are the dynamics similar?”

“Not like Legends, no,” Charlie said stiffly. “Nothing can quite compare.”

She didn’t miss the warning touch on the wrist that Sara gave Ava, or the quick exchange between the two afterwards, a whole conversation using just their eyes. But she was glad. She didn’t want to dredge up all that, not now, not in front of everyone, especially Sara Lance.

The conversation quickly moved from there, Sara steering the topics toward more mundane things, like where Charlie was from, her favorite foods, that sort of thing.

Still, the conversation remained almost solely focused on Charlie, which was a little awkward. But it wasn’t like Ava and Sara had any get-to-know-you questions to ask each other. Even though she was new, Charlie wasn’t blind.

Just as Charlie was beginning to get uncomfortable from all the attention, the doorbell rang again.

“I’ll get it,” Charlie said hurriedly, before Ava could untangle herself from Sara. She opened the door to reveal Nora and Mona, who Charlie hadn’t officially met yet.

“I’m so excited to meet you!” Mona exclaimed, a huge smile plastered on her face as she threw her arms around Charlie’s neck, squeezing her tightly. She smelled overwhelmingly of coconut and pineapple, like one of those cheap summer perfumes from the mall.

Nora smiled wryly as Charlie struggled to remove herself from Mona’s grasp. “It’s nice to meet you,” Charlie said politely, after she’d managed to extract herself.

“I’ve trying and trying to catch you on set, but you’re so sneaky!”

“What a shame,” Nora said dryly, as she, too, hugged Charlie, but a little less exuberantly. “I’m glad to see you again, Charlie. Did we miss much?”

“Just polite conversation.”

“Ah, so no.”

“Pretty much.”

Charlie followed Nora and Mona into the living room.

“Finally,” Nate groaned. “You’re here. Now we can eat.”

“What do you mean, you haven’t eaten?” Nora exclaimed, eyes drifting to the clock. “It’s eight, I thought for sure you would have had dinner without us.”

“I would have, but Sharpe has a stick-up-her-butt,” Mick grunted, taking a swig of beer. “She wouldn’t let us even _touch_ the food.”

“Mick,” Sara warned, shooting a glare in his direction.

Ava just rolled her eyes. “Well, we can get started now. I wanted to make sure that there was food left- you know how Gary and Nate are.”

“What?!” Gary protested “I-”

He was silenced by the meaningful look that Ava gave him.

Everyone lined up to get food- the main dish was barbecue sandwiches, with salad and ice cream for dessert. Charlie avoided the barbecue- she wasn’t a huge fan of the sauce. She noticed that Zari did, too, which was a little puzzling, until she remembered that Zari was Muslim, and didn’t eat pork.

They gathered in the living room, filing into the seats. Charlie ended up between Nora and Nate, which could have been worse. Conversation flowed easily now that it wasn’t just Charlie, Sara, and Ava.

Charlie knew she was the outsider. It was clear, especially tonight, that she hadn’t spent as much time with the cast. Their inside jokes and stories were like a foreign language to her. There was something about Beebo that everyone seemed to especially enjoy talking about.

“Beebo is a blue stuffed animal thing,” Nora whispered to Charlie, sensing her friend’s confusion. “It’s a bit odd, but we have fun with it. Someone sent it to us a while ago, and we just kind of… messed around.”

“Ah,” Charlie said. “I might have seen something about that on Twitter.”

“I’m sure, the fans love Beebo.”

The group started talking about their plans for press this year, and the various Instagram livestreams and takeovers that they had planned.

“You’re welcome to have a day for a takeover,” Sara told Charlie. “It’s a fun time, you can do whatever you want with it, really. Behind-the-scenes, that kind of thing.”

“Sure,” Charlie said, shrugging. “If you want me to.”

“We can talk about a date later, usually we line it up with an episode that’s pivotal for your character, or some kind of event,” Sara decided. “But I’ll definitely plan for you to have control at least once before our winter hiatus.”

After a few minutes, the cast decided to play a game, and gathered around Ava’s kitchen table, which was really not large enough to fit the entire cast.

Somehow, Charlie ended up squished between Gary and Zari.

Throughout the countless rounds of dominos, she found herself either being elbowed in the ribs by Gary (by accident) or being sent angry glares by Zari (on purpose). She would have much rather have sat between Nora and Ava, or something of that sort. Dealing with Mona would have even been more tolerable than Gary and Zari at the same time.

But it could have been worse, Charlie found herself thinking for what seemed like the hundredth time in the past few weeks.

Gary and Zari could have smelled bad, like the last love interest that Charlie played opposite. Which happened to be one of her pet peeves. If someone asked her to name the one thing she nitpicked people on, it was how they smelled. But this time, instead of old baked beans, both of them actually had a quite nice odor to them.

Zari especially, smelled good, like chai spice, and something warm, vanilla, possibly.

It sounded petty, but this was the only thing that Charlie actually liked about this girl.

* * *

 

**instagram :**

**_charlieeeee:_ ** _game night with the legends. gary needs to calm down._

_July 19, 2018_

**_tagged:_ ** _gargreen, cw_legendsoftomorrow, saaraalaance, drnheywood, mick.rory, a.sharpe, ztomaz, gideon, darhkness, jconstantine_ _  
_ **_location:_ ** _star city, canada_

 **_liked by:_ ** _cw_legendsoftomorrow, a.sharpe, and 17,109 others._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> don't forget, you can always visit me on my tumblr, darkdisrepair, and ask questions/send me prompts/etc because i'm starting to run out of things for charlie to do not gonna lie :) 
> 
> also, i may or may not have a pinterest inspiration board. i'd be happy to share the link with you guys, but only if you're interested!


	3. when there's tea (there's hope)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> charlie and nora bond over apartment decorating and tea.

It was strange, Charlie thought. Before, she dreaded coming to work everyday. For multiple reasons. Now, things were different. She found herself actually looking forward to showing up on set and hanging out with her cast mates (well, most of them, anyway). And even though Zari and Charlie couldn’t exactly ignore each other, they avoided as many unnecessary interactions as possible.

Nora, on the other hand, was someone that Charlie was happy to hang around with. She was witty, and funny, even though it didn’t seem like she was when they first met. When Charlie texted her (admittedly a little nervously) to ask her if she could help with the apartment, she’d replied way more enthusiastically than expected. She hadn’t seemed like someone who was a fan of casual get-togethers and interior design.

She’d walked in the door, though, with a bunch of ideas that Charlie hadn’t even thought of, like painting an accent wall in the living room, and had even come with two little succulents under her arm.

“Wouldn’t have pegged you for someone who appreciates aesthetic apartment decor,” Nora commented as she helped Charlie shelve her countless stacks of books. “I thought you’d be more of a ‘chuck it in the corner and forget about it’ kind of girl.”

“Home is the one place where I force myself to be organized,” Charlie admitted. “No one likes living in a pigsty. Plus, then, I can impress everyone with my impeccable decorating skills when they come over.”

“Don’t push it, C,” Nora snorted as shoved a few of Charlie’s books onto her shelf. “So, first impressions on the Legends? Good? Bad?”

Charlie shrugged. “Good, mostly.”

Nora looked unconvinced as she exchanged _Great Expectations_ for _The Hobbit_ on the shelf. “Mostly?”

“Not all you people are exactly welcoming. I’m sure that some would rather not have to see me everyday. Even some of your crew aren’t huge fans-”

“It’s just because you’re new, and different,” Nora interrupted. “Trust me, everyone acts like it’s all sunshine and rainbows when you join a new cast, but it’s not. There will always be people who are waiting for you to make a mistake so they can criticize it. So until you figure out who to hang out with,  you’re just going to have to deal with the dirty looks from all sides.”

“Will people always be like that? I know some people are always like that-”

Nora shook her head. “Some people are more obnoxious than others. Some just sit around and wait to pounce on any mistake- mostly the guy directors who never got their heads on completely straight. But most of the cast understands.”

Charlie couldn’t hold back a snort at that. Frowning, Nora froze halfway through putting a book on the shelf.

“I doubt that,” she said.

“Who?” Nora’s eyes narrowed.

Charlie hesitated. She was still new, in that precarious place, where any wrong move could still get her fired. No fans were attached to her, she had no permanent connections to _anyone._ “Zari, mainly,” she said finally, closing her eyes, half-expecting Nora to get up and leave, waiting for her to go and report her to the producers. A comment like that surely would have lost her a job if she’d been in the same show as she’d been in last year-

“You don’t have to worry about Zari,” Nora said after a long, tense silence. “She’ll come around eventually.”

“Really? She seems quite hell-bent on hating my guts. Frankly, the feeling is quite mutual-”

“You don’t understand. She and Amaya… they were close. Closer than most, except maybe Sara and Ava. They were always together, always hanging out, going on hiking trips together… they were best friends. Maybe more.”

Charlie wasn’t surprised. Only an idiot would miss the heartbreaking loss in Zari’s eyes as she walked around set.

“When Amaya left… Zari was a wreck. Not many people understand Zari the way that Amaya does, and- it’s not easy to have you around to remind her that Amaya’s gone,” Nora explained carefully. “It’s probably hard to get, especially when you didn’t see the two of them together…”

“I didn’t ask to replace Amaya.”

“I know,” Nora said quickly. “And no one’s trying to compare you to her. But, whether you know it or not, you two are pretty similar. So that doesn’t help your case, either.”

“Amaya and I look nothing alike,” Charlie insisted.

“That’s not what I meant. The way you carry yourself, the way you talk, the way you treat others- you’re similar. Maybe it’s not obvious to you, but I see the resemblance. So does everyone else.”

Charlie opened her mouth to protest, but- “Not in a bad way,” Nora quickly amended. “You’re both wonderful people. Determined, driven, passionate. You care deeply, and Amaya did, too.”

Oh.

Nora turned back to arranging the books in color order. “Don’t worry, I’m sure you and Zari will end up becoming good friends. It would be impossible for you not to.”

Charlie wasn’t sure about that, but at least she knew now with certainty why Zari hated her so much.

* * *

 The two of them flopped down on the couch, exhausted, after they’d finished setting up Charlie’s bookshelf, and unpacking all of the other miscellaneous items from the boxes. It’d taken them four hours to get everything sorted out, rearrange the furniture, and hang the artwork on the walls.

“Thanks for your help,” Charlie said, looking over at Nora. “I didn’t know who else to ask.”

“Any time.”

“Would you like some tea?”

Laughing, Nora nodded. “That’s probably the most British thing you’ve said to me yet,” she commented.

“Being British isn’t all about tea and crumpets,” Charlie said, rolling her eyes as she stood and headed into the kitchen, pulling out her assortment of different teas. “Do you have any preferences? Earl Grey, Jasmine? I have some non-conventional kinds, too, if you want to try those… They’re quite good.”

“I’ll try a non-conventional one, if you don’t mind.”

“There’s ‘The Forbidden Forest’, ‘Draught of Peace’, ‘Beauxbatons’, ‘Durmstrang’, ‘Dumbledore’s Office-’”

“Oh, so you’re a Harry Potter fan, along with your tea obsession?” Nora asked, stifling a laugh. “I guess then being British isn’t only about tea and crumpets, it also requires a healthy dose of Harry Potter to mix in with all of your tea leaves and buttered pastries-”

“Don’t hate on Harry Potter,” Charlie warned, brandishing a box of tea at Nora. “If you do, we can’t be friends. It’s against the law for a British person to be friends with a non-believer.”

Nora held her hands up in surrender. “I’ll have ‘Draught of Peace’, then.”

Thanks to Charlie’s electric kettle, the water was ready in a matter of minutes, and she brought Nora’s mug over to the couch for her.

Tentatively, Nora took a sip of the tea. “This is impressive,” she commented, her face practically buried in her mug as she inhaled the rising steam. “I could drink this tea every day.”

“Told you. This tea is a godsend,” Charlie said smugly. “Plus, it’s been proven that everything Harry Potter themed is perfection.”

“I don’t know if _that’s_ true, what would you say to explain the timeline confusion in the second Fantastic Beasts movie?”

“Stupid fact checkers. They had a hard time keeping up with all their plotlines, or something,” Charlie replied instantly. “We’ll figure it out in the next movie. It’s not a flaw.”

“Keep telling yourself that.”

They sat there in silence, quietly sipping tea, each lost in their own thoughts. Charlie couldn’t help but think how far she’d come- a year ago, she wouldn’t have even considered having one of her fellow cast members over to her apartment, let alone share some of her precious tea with them. But sitting with Nora was way different than sitting with any one of the other girls from her old cast. Nora didn’t feel the need to fill the silence with useless gossip and idle chatter about makeup, boys, and drama. Thankfully.

Charlie cleared her throat. “Um, Nora?”

“What?”

“Thanks. For being my friend. And welcoming me in.”

“Don’t worry about it. You’re pretty cool… for a Brit.”

That almost earned Nora a smack on the head, but then Charlie remembered the mug of steaming hot tea in her friend’s hands, and decided against it.

* * *

  **instagram**

 **_darhkness:_ ** _it’s a law that in order to be british, you (and all your friends) must drink tea and have a harry potter obsession. even better if you can demonstrate your love of both at the same time. #draughtofpeace #teawassmashing_

_July 22, 2018_

**_tagged:_ ** _charlieeeee_ _  
_ **_location:_ ** _star city, canada_

 **_liked by:_ ** _charlieeeee, saaraalaance, and 70,148 others._


	4. i wanted to be all the things you loved (yet sadly i am plagued with flaws)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> it's zari's birthday, and there's some arguing over spilled beer.

Charlie couldn’t help but hesitate as she thumbed through the numerous outfits in her closet. Should she even be going to this birthday celebration? It was for Zari, after all, and the two of them weren’t exactly on good terms. They weren’t on any kind of term, really, since Charlie could count the number of words they’d spoken to each other on two hands. Their conversations consisted only of ‘yes’, ‘no’, and ‘thank you’. And that was about it.

Zari might not appreciate yet another reminder that, instead of the perfect, flawless, classy Amaya, she was instead stuck with someone who couldn’t be any more different. Charlie knew that she and Amaya acted nothing alike, and even if Nora thought that their mannerisms were the same in some ways, that probably didn’t help Charlie’s case at all.

And yet, she knew that Sara expected her to be there, and it wasn’t like she could snub Zari by _not_ going. Charlie didn’t need to be known as the person with a high-and-mighty attitude, who thought she was above birthday parties.

No, Charlie refused to be _that_ girl.

A few minutes later, Charlie stepped out the door wearing a nice pair of polka dot pants and a red top, carrying a carefully wrapped gift in one hand and her phone in the other.

She  began walking down to Ava’s apartment for the second time in less than two weeks, arriving a few minutes late, to find that almost everyone was already there, minus Mick, Mona, Nora, and John, who were just leaving set.

“Charlie, glad you could make it,” Sara said, opening the door with a smile. “Gifts go in the living room, food is on the counter. Help yourself, everyone’s just kind of snacking for now.”

The living room seemed somehow more stuffy than the last time- maybe it was because there were more people, some of which Charlie didn’t know. Or maybe it was because, from the moment she walked into view, she could feel Zari’s resentful glare on her back.

Even so, Charlie set the gift on the living room and forced a smile on her face.

“Happy birthday, love,” she told Zari.

“Don’t call me that,” Zari snapped automatically, her voice icy cold.

“Didn’t mean to press buttons,” Charlie raised her hands in mock surrender. “Just telling it like it is. It _is_ your special day, after all.”

Before Zari could say anything in response, Mona bounded into the room and threw her arms around her with a loud squeal.

“It’s your birthday!” she exclaimed. “Isn’t this the most amazing day? You’re one day older! That means you’re one step closer to retirement!”

Charlie snorted. “Like that’s a reassuring thought.”

Zari shot Charlie another glare, while prying herself from Mona’s tentacle-like grip. “Thank you, Mona. I appreciate the thought.”

They spent about another twenty minutes waiting for Nora and John to get back from set- apparently there was a horrible accident on the freeway that held them up for quite some time. But after what seemed like an eternity of everyone staring at Charlie, the two finally arrived, filling the already brimming room with even more chatter and excitement.

If there was any time where Charlie had felt most like an outsider while she’d been in the cast, it was this party. All of them had things to talk about, either about Zari or with Zari. Unlike everyone else, Charlie didn’t. She probably knew Zari less than everyone else.

The extent of her knowledge about Zari was limited to her sarcasm, her attachment to Amaya, and her ‘I’m more moral than you’. While this hadn’t bothered Charlie before, it was beginning to now. Zari was quickly losing Charlie’s respect- she made no moves to talk, and every time they did have a conversation, she constantly seemed to be looking for flaws.

Charlie was about at the end of her rope with this girl, with her scathing looks and her sad eyes and her stupid red pendant.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Things weren’t as bad as Charlie expected, until they got about an hour into the party.

It wasn’t even a big deal, what happened.

Gary was flailing around, he smacked the bottle out of his hand, sending beer spilling onto the couch and all over Zari, who leapt up from her seat in an unsuccessful attempt to avoid getting wet.

“I’m so sorry,” Charlie apologized quickly, looking around for something to clean up the mess with as she tried to help Zari.  “Um, let me-”

Zari wrenched her arm out of Charlie’s grasp. “Don’t touch me,” she snapped. “I don’t need help. Especially from _you.”_

“I was just trying to help, love.”

The word slipped out before she could stop it. Instantly she knew it was the wrong thing to say. That was the last straw for Zari, who wheeled around.

“Don’t. You. Dare,” she growled. “No one gets to call me that.”

“Didn’t Amaya-”

_“Shut up, Gary,”_ Ava hissed.

But Zari wasn’t finished. She was about two feet away from Charlie, her eyes flashing with red-hot anger, her face flushed.

“You think you have the right to come in here and pretend that you fit in?” Zari demanded. “You don’t deserve to stand there and call me ‘love’ and spill alcohol all over me. I don’t want you here, don’t you understand that? You shouldn’t be here, acting like you can walk into our cast and instantly belong. Because you _don’t,_ and you never will. So stop trying to be Amaya. You and I will never be friends.”

“In case you haven’t noticed, love, I’m not Amaya, and I haven’t been pretending to be her, either,” Charlie retorted, crossing her arms. “Not everything is about you, not everything is about Amaya. When are you gonna pull your head out of your ass and realize that nothing I’ve done has even _remotely_ been in an attempt to replace Amaya? If I’d wanted to do that, I would wear a nice teacher blouse and perfect makeup and put on a prissy American accent-”

Zari stepped forward, her fists clenched at her sides. _“You-”_

Sara sprang up. “I think it’s time for cake,” she declared, one hand firmly on Zari’s elbow. “Nora, why don’t you help Charlie clean up this mess, while we cut the cake? Ava, can you grab my old sweater from the closet for Zari to wear?”

Charlie reluctantly wrenched herself away from Zari’s challenging glare and headed to the sink, wetting a washcloth, Nora right beside her.

While they mopped up the beer all over Ava’s couch, Zari and Sara disappeared into the kitchen, presumably to cut the cake and find clothes for Zari to change in to. The others- Ray, Mick, John, Mona, Gary, Nate- pitched in after a few minutes of tense, charged silence.

Deep down, Charlie was glad that Sara intervened when she did. Zari had seemed desperate for an row, and Charlie didn’t know what would have happened if their argument had continued escalating in the same direction it had been heading.

“You know, you don’t need to antagonize her like that,” Nora said quietly to Charlie, as they scrubbed at the couch.

“I know,” Charlie muttered. “I tried to remember what you told me, but it feels like every time I turn around, someone’s trying to compare me to Amaya. And I’m sick of it.”

Nora sighed. “I don’t know what to say. Zari can be stubborn. You just need to lay low for a little, and maybe not pick fights.”

“It’s hard, when she keeps trying to slap labels onto me like I’m some sort of stupid-”

“I’m not going to pretend it’s wrong. People make assumptions about me, too. Don’t forget, I’m the daughter of a blackmailer. But that doesn’t mean that you have to let them mean anything,” Nora said finally. “Just… for today, leave Zari alone?”

Charlie snorted, rolling her eyes. She stopped when Nora gave her a _look._

“It’s her birthday.”

_“Fine.”_

* * *

  **instagram**

**_amayajiwe:_ ** _zari- you are one of the best people i have ever met. i miss your contagious smile, your sarcastic wit, and your amazing heart. even though we don’t work together anymore, i’m still thinking of you, the best of friends. happy birthday, love ;)_

_July 24, 2018_

**_tagged:_ ** _ztomaz_ _  
_ **_location:_ ** _the waverider_

**_liked by:_ ** _ztomaz, charlieeeee, and 287,433 others._


	5. everything you want (is on the other side of fear)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> charlie has trouble coping on set.
> 
> also, if stuff about mentions of harassment etc., triggers you, this story might not be the best idea. there's nothing SUPER graphic but... i don't want any of you to be freaked out :)

One of the most glorious things about working on Legends, Charlie learned, was the Parlour. Unlike most studios, Legends of Tomorrow had a comfy seating area for actors to sit while sets were being dressed and cameras were being organized. The crew had the Parlor, which had the same idea, but was just decorated more modern, and with more space. Both rooms had been playfully modeled after the Parlour in the show.

Charlie’s personal favorite was a large, leather chair, which she unofficially claimed as her own a few days into filming in July. She definitely had her fair share of nasty looks, mostly from Zari. It was probably Amaya’s- everything Charlie touched seemed to have some connection that girl. Everywhere she turned, she was constantly offending people by ‘invading’ what used to be Amaya’s.

Frankly, it was getting quite annoying.

So she ignored the dirty looks and continued to sit there. Now August, it seemed like people had gotten over Charlie’s chair choice, and stopped moving her backpack whenever she put it down there.

Usually the Parlour was pretty full- at least three actors were there at the same time, if not more. If there weren’t actors there, their stuff was, so at least the room didn’t feel quite so empty. But this evening, most of them had gone home after a long day of shooting, others were involved in a scene Charlie wasn’t in, so she was alone, waiting for her final scene of the day to begin.

She tried to pass the time by scrolling through Instagram, looking at memes on her Explore page and answering DM requests. Ever since she’d started posting about the Legends, her follower count had started to climb. Which was nice. At least some people were excited about her joining the cast.

But even that couldn’t take her mind off how dark the set seemed today, or how every noise she heard seemed to echo endlessly throughout the building.

When everyone else was around, set never felt spooky. Even if it was just Charlie and Zari in the room, at least it meant that someone else was there in case someone decided to try something stupid. And all of the Legends usually filled the room with such joy that, in the daytime, Charlie actually enjoyed sitting in the Parlour, listening to their dumb jokes and silly stories.

Tonight, she hated it.

After thirty minutes of jumping at every creak, Charlie pulled out her earbuds and shoved them into her ears, turning the music up as far as she possibly could, so loud that she could barely hear herself think. She wrenched open her script and forced herself to stare at the words on the page, but even then, Charlie couldn’t make herself focus.

She kept looking to the door of the Parlour, half expecting a shadowy figure to be standing there, lurking, staring at her with cold, lidded eyes-

_No._

She wouldn’t let those people get into her brain. She was out, she was free. This wasn’t like before. This place was different, this place was warm, and happy, and carefree.

Charlie wrenched her gaze away and turned back to her script, this time determined to get some memorization done before she had to leave for the next scene, telling herself that she couldn’t look up until she’d gotten through five pages of material.

She knew she needed to work on this scene- this wasn’t one she could exactly wing and get away with it, but she found herself staring mindlessly, not at the pages in her hands, but the abandoned script in a chair almost the whole way around the room. Near the door.

Charlie read the words ZARI TOMAZ over and over, half of her brain focusing on those black letters, half on the figure that appeared, easily taking up the door frame-

Wrenching out her earbuds, Charlie sprang up, heart pounding, as the figure stepped closer, and closer, and closer, until it stepped into the light and she realized that it was just Mick.

She sighed in relief, sinking back into the depths of the leather chair.

“Expecting someone else?” Mick grunted, as he fell into the seat next to Charlie.

“Something of that sort,” Charlie answered, not meeting Mick’s gaze as she checked her phone for notifications she knew she didn’t have. After all, no one she was close with was active at one o’clock in the morning- and everyone else from the cast was probably in bed.

“Boyfriend?”

Charlie snorted. “Not in a million years.”

_“Significant person?”_

“I suppose you could call the people who terrorized me for two years _significant people,”_ Charlie said, trying to prune the bitterness from her voice.

To his credit, Mick didn’t say anything to that, just chugged a sip from his water bottle and opened his computer.

Even though Mick Rory would not have been the first person Charlie would have wanted to hang out with at one o’clock, it turned out perfect. Neither of them liked to talk about their feelings. Mick didn’t even really like to talk at all.

But he was someone to fill the emptiness in the Parlour, and someone who Charlie could inexplicably trust. From the moment she’d stepped on set, she’d known that he was not one to be afraid of. Having him there chased away the ghosts that lurked in the corners of Charlie’s mind.

She sank back into her chair, script in hand.

It was then she realized that she could actually focus now that she wasn’t constantly looking over her shoulder, checking to make sure that someone wasn’t about to come in and take advantage of the lonely, dark set.

In fact, with Mick here, the set didn’t even feel dark.

After about ten more minutes, an assistant came into the Parlour to tell the two of them that the set was ready for filming.

While Charlie usually bolted out the door without waiting to walk to set with other people, this time, she stood in the doorway as Mick powered off his laptop. He didn’t say anything to acknowledge the fact that she’d waited for him, but she noticed he paused when he was a few steps out the door to make sure that he was right behind her.

They were halfway to the lab set when he broke the amiable silence.

“You know, I do like sitting.”

Charlie raised her eyebrows.

“Sitting with other people. At night,” he clarified, clearing his throat, not meeting her gaze. “So if you ever need someone..."

The sentence hung in the air, heavy, the next words left unspoken. But Charlie knew what he meant. And she was grateful, even humbled, that someone like Mick would make an offer like that.

“I might take you up on that. I also like sitting. With other people. At night,” she said.

Before he could hide it, Charlie caught what looked like a smile flash across Mick’s face for the briefest of seconds.

* * *

**instagram**

**_mick.rory:_ ** _we like sitting. with other people. at night. #theparlour_

_August 1, 2018_

**_tagged:_ ** _charlieeeee_ _  
_ **_location:_ ** _the parlour_

 **_liked by:_ ** _charlieeeee, darhkness, and 97,013 others._


	6. it is by art that we live (if we do)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> sara and charlie bond over art.

That night on set jolted Charlie out of the blissful, dream-like state she’d been living in for the past two weeks. Being with the Legends helped stop her from thinking about her old cast.

But, a few days after, sitting in the canteen, Charlie couldn’t keep her mind off it. 

When she’d landed the job three years ago on a show called  _ The Smell,  _ she’d been over the moon. It was her first real acting gig, outside of commercials she’d done as a kid. And she’d gotten that role all by herself, without her parents helping. Just by self-tapes. It finally felt like her hard work was paying off.

Then she got to set. 

The first couple of months had been fine- everyone walked on eggshells, afraid that any sign of controversy on set would get them fired. But when the show gained somewhat of a cult following, some of the other actors got a little  _ too  _ relaxed about their employment. 

Season two was when the harassment started, when the actors began to pull pranks, like putting bleach in the wash with Charlie’s costumes, or stealing her hairbrush and hiding it on set. At first, it wasn’t that bad. Charlie had even thought it was kind of funny. 

But the worst part was the director. 

Out of all the atrocities that Charlie had seen on set of  _ The Smell,  _ the director was the worst. He was the classic case of someone who’d gotten too big for his britches. He thought he could get away with everything- threatening people to fire them if they didn’t do something he wanted, or touching some of the actors when they walked past. 

He would even ‘accidentally’ come into the trailers at random times, hoping to catch girls naked. Charlie found that out the hard way.

When she started locking her doors, the director confronted about it.

She could still remember his words that ran like ice down her back, how close he leaned in, how his eyes had a hint of instability in them.

_ You know, you should really keep your door unlocked. It would be a shame if someone were to find your contract. _

He hadn’t said anything explicitly, but she knew what he’d meant.

Charlie hoped in vain for months that he’d get caught, or someone would fire him, or the show would magically lose all of its viewership.

When she caught him hauling a little girl by the elbow into a closet, she finally reported what was going on.

Being on  _ The Smell  _ was supposed to be a dream come true. But instead, it was the nightmare that she’d lived every day for two years, locking her doors, checking her closets, taking her phone with her everywhere she went. 

“Charlie!”

She whirled around, an excuse forming in her mind, half-poised to flee, when she realized the person behind her was just Sara.

“Looks like that apple must have done something bad, to deserve that kind of punishment,” Sara commented with a nod to the apple in clenched Charlie’s hand. 

Charlie looked down at the squished and battered fruit, barely managing to mask her embarrassment. “Rotten to the core, through and through,” she said, shrugging. “You know how it is.”

The corners of Sara’s mouth twitched a little, but she didn’t laugh. She turned to her own lunch and began to unpeel her orange. “I just wanted to check in with you. See how you were doing after having a few weeks under your belt.”

“Smashing.”

Sara raised her eyebrows. “Really? That apple would say otherwise.”

Charlie remained silent, determinedly staring down at the food in front of her. She’d promised herself from the beginning that she wouldn’t tell anyone from the Legends about what happened with  _ The Smell.  _ They didn’t need to know. 

“Listen, I know I’m not the easiest person to talk to, and we’re not close,” Sara said finally. “But if there’s anything you want to get out, I’m here.”

“I know you leader types,” Charlie shook her head. “I know what you’re like. You’ll judge me, and try and figure out my problems, because you have your shit together and I don’t.”

“Have you been paying attention at all?” Sara demanded. “I don’t know what I’m doing, no more than any of you do. I know I’m just as messed up as everyone else.”

“Then why are you here?”

“I didn’t come over to issue some final judgement on you, or make fun of you. I like you, Charlie, and I want you to fit in here. And I know you want to like it here, too. But something’s holding you back,” Sara said, as she continued to eat her orange. Like they weren’t even having a deep conversation. Like this exchange was as normal as talking about the weather.

Charlie snorted. “Is this what you Legends do? Sit around and talk about your feelings?”

“More like act like they don’t exist,” Sara answered, just as quickly. “While everyone else rolls their eyes because they know there’s problems that people are avoiding. At least I do, and Ava, and Mick, and Zari. We hate talking about our feelings.”

“Well, then, if you want to talk about feelings, go to Ray, or someone like that.”

“I’m not here to talk to them, I’m here for you.”

Charlie could tell that she was beginning to grate on Sara’s nerves- and even though she saw it happening, she couldn’t stop herself. It wasn’t like she didn’t like the girl. Sara was perfect, she was pretty, she was confident, she was a great actress, she was perfect girlfriend. But she would never understand. 

“I’d rather not spill my guts to someone I’ve just met,” she said finally. 

Sara sat back in her hair. “Okay then.”

That was shocking. Charlie hadn’t expected that to work in the slightest- Sara had always struck her as stubborn, a pain-in-the-ass type who would not be put off by an excuse like the one Charlie had just given her. 

“What do you like to do?” 

“Pardon?”

“What do you like to do? Dance, kickbox, laser tag, art?”

“What’s it to you?” Charlie demanded.

Sara sighed. “You said you didn’t want to talk to someone you just met. So, we’re going to do something together, so you actually have someone on your side. Someone to talk to, that’s not a complete stranger. I’m asking what you want to do.”

“Do you do with this all the ladies?”

“No, you’re the only one I’ve done this with,” Sara said, rolling her eyes. “Take your pick. We can do any activity you want, except date. That’s off the table.”

“And if I don’t want to?”

“Then I’ll choose. I won’t guarantee that you’ll like what I want do.”

Even though Charlie knew she didn’t really have a choice- Sara was going to take her somewhere whether she liked it or not- it didn’t feel like a threat, like it would have if she’d been in  _ The Smell.  _ This was different. 

After a moment, Charlie mumbled, “I like art.”

Sara raised her eyebrows. “Art, I can get on board with. What’s your schedule for tonight?”

“I’m free, I’m done with filming after this next scene.”

“Great, meet you at your trailer.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A few hours later found Sara sitting on the top step of Charlie’s trailer. She’d changed out of her costume and into a pale leather jacket. She stood when she saw Charlie coming.

“Do you need some time?” she asked, nodding to the trailer. “I can pop by Zari’s if you want to change into something else.”

“Five minutes?”

Sara jumped down from the stoop. “Done.” She gave Charlie a smile and turned to the adjoining trailer, which was labeled ZARI. “See you in a few. Text or come over to get me.”

Charlie nodded, then headed in to change. She was secretly relieved that she hadn’t found Sara actually sitting in her trailer- even though she trusted her, it would be too soon. To find someone relaxing in her own space, without Charlie there.

She quickly tossed on her normal clothes and checked her hair in the mirror before stepping back out of the trailer. There was no sign of Sara.

A little reluctantly, Charlie knocked on the door of Zari’s trailer, hoping against hope that it was Sara who answered.

Thankfully, it was.

“Ready?” Sara asked.

Charlie shrugged. “As I’ll ever be.”

After reasonable walk- about twenty minutes- they reached an art studio that Sara had found on Google Maps. A man approached them with a large smile on his face.

“Welcome! Pick out any size canvas you want,” he said, motioning to the large assortment of canvases around the room. “You can follow one of our preset templates or you can wing it, whichever you prefer. You’ll pay by canvas, plus a seven-dollar materials fee. As long as you clean up after yourself, you should be fine.”

“Great, thank you,” Sara told the man.

They both ended up choosing a square frame, 12x12 inches. Sara sent Charlie to grab the paints while she got the brushes, easels, and palettes set up. 

“I’m warning you, I’m not amazing at art,” Sara said, sitting down in front of her canvas. 

“So the great Sara Lance isn’t perfect, after all,” Charlie commented. 

Sara rolled her eyes. “Oh, please. Don’t flatter me, I’m a mess. You’ll find out soon enough.”

“I can tell, you already have paint on your pants,” Charlie motioned with her brush at the splotch of blue that was already beginning to stain Sara’s jeans. 

“Well, shit.”

They worked in relative silence for at least a half-hour, only interrupted by Sara’s request for a before picture and the occasional curse when one of them messed up.

Art was something Charlie always enjoyed. She thought it’d be weird, sharing this part of her with Sara, especially since they really didn’t know each other that well. But it was easy to just sit there and pretend that Sara wasn’t even there. And this painting was interesting enough that it held enough of Charlie’s attention to keep her mind off the inevitable conversation ahead.

She didn’t know where she’d gotten the idea for it. She’d just started painting, and bit by bit, a forest formed, with a path down the middle. The leaves were all in shades of red. 

Sara’s painting, on the other hand, was mostly blue. 

“So, do you have any questions to ask me?” Sara asked, breaking the silence that had fallen between them. “Anything at all. Now’s your chance.”

Charlie didn’t answer, just swirled a splash of black into the bright green on her palette. “Amaya, what was she like?”

“She liked the rules,” Sara said after a pause. “She’s smart, and passionate. She loves her family a lot, more than most.”

“Why did she leave?”

“It’s complicated. There were family complications, the kind of stuff that you kinda need to be there for. It tore her apart, to leave Legends. But it’s family, you know?”

“And Zari-”

Sara sighed. “She had a hard time. Amaya helped Zari get through some rough patches last year. I think… I think Zari’s afraid of what will happen when Amaya’s not there to help her through things.”

Charlie was silent after that, mulling the information over in her mind. It made sense, and explained the veiled fear that she always saw in Zari’s eyes. She hadn’t been able to place it until now.

“Any other questions?”

“Not really, no.”

“My turn, then,” Sara said. “Why are you so afraid of opening up to the Legends?”

“Jumping straight into it, aren’t you?” Charlie asked, a little bitterly. “It’s a long story.”

To her credit, Sara didn’t react in the slightest. “We have time. And that’s what we’re here for. I didn’t come all this way and dye my pants blue for nothing. What do you have to lose?”

“Your respect,” Charlie muttered, dabbing a streak of red on her canvas a bit more aggressively than she’d intended. 

“I doubt that. We’ve all done things we regret.”

“I doubt that you would understand how to ‘do something wrong’. You’ve probably never even been yelled at before. You’re so blonde and perfect, no one spares you a second glance. Me, I’ve been targeted my whole life.”

Sara scoffed. “I slept with my sister’s boyfriend, and went on a cruise with him, knowing full well that she was planning to move in with him. Sound perfect to you?”

“It’s a hell of a lot better than letting your director rape a thirteen year old girl!” Charlie exclaimed, loud enough that heads turned in their director. Sara’s eyes were wide. “Didn’t expect that, did you? Still respect me now?”

“It wasn’t your fault,” Sara said after a long, heavy silence. “I’m sure it wasn’t.”

Charlie scoffed. “I knew what was going on. I knew he was… inappropriate. I watched him do it. It even happened to me. But I didn’t put a stop to it. Why? Because I wasn’t willing to risk my so-called ‘dream job’, even to prevent  _ that man  _ from doing God-knows what to kids. Who knows how many of them I could have saved, if I had just swallowed my goddamn pride and said something-”

She refused to look at Sara, refused to see the betrayal in her friend’s- no, not her friend’s- eyes, now that she realized that Charlie was a fraud. That she’d let that man have free reign over set, knowing that there were  _ children  _ who worked there, innocent kids who came on the show expecting to have the time of their lives. 

“Is that all?” Sara asked quietly. Charlie couldn’t help herself- she snuck a gaze at the blonde. Instead of looking at Charlie, Sara’s gaze remained focused on the details of her painting. When she felt Charlie’s eyes on her, she finally set down her paintbrush.

“What do you mean, is that all?” Charlie spluttered. “I just confessed to something inexcusable.”

“The way you were talking, I thought that you were an accomplice in murder, or something of that nature. It’s horrible, what happened, I’m not going to deny that. I can’t imagine what you must have gone through on that set, and I won’t even begin to pretend to understand your past experiences. I have no knowledge about how to deal with that kind of thing,” Sara told her, her blue eyes unsettlingly somber. “Neither do I have control over what happened in the past.”

“I-”

“What I can tell you is this- that kind of atmosphere will never, ever exist on the Legends of Tomorrow set. You will be safe there. I don’t care if they’re my friends- if something like that  _ ever,  _ and I repeat,  _ ever,  _ happens to you, come to me. No matter the time of day.”

“You don’t even know me,” Charlie protested. “I’ve been here less than a month. I could be lying. I’m just as bad as them, Sara, and-”

Sara shook her head. “I don’t care if you’re new, I don’t care if I’ve known them longer. I take my team seriously, even if I might not act like it. I can’t promise that it will be perfect- the cast certainly isn’t perfect. We all have flaws, even me. And even though I might not act like it sometimes, I care about you. Everyone else does, too. Even if they don’t show it.”

Charlie wrenched her eyes away from Sara’s, swallowing the lump that was forming in her throat, unable to meet the other girl’s gaze any longer. 

“I want you to have fun,” added Sara, her voice softening. “Deal?”

“Okay,” Charlie agreed. 

“Good. Now, let’s go. I think the fumes are getting to me.”

In silence, they set to cleaning up their workspace- Charlie washed the brushes while Sara wiped down the tables. 

When they went to pay, Charlie was able to look at her painting for the first time. Through a tunnel of brightly colored trees walked a girl- a girl that bore a striking resemblance to Sara Lance.

* * *

 

**instagram**

**_saaraalaance:_ ** _ museum of modern art, here we come. _

_ August 1, 2018 _

**_tagged:_ ** _ charlieeeee _ _   
_ **_location:_ ** _ star city, canada _

**_liked by:_ ** _ charlieeeee, constantine, and 761,927 others.  _


	7. finally home (where i belong)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> charlie's finally starting to fit in to the legends. 
> 
> she also has her first pleasant exchange with zari. that's progress, right?

Charlie wasn’t sure if Sara had given the rest of the cast a ‘talk’, or what, but a few days after their heart-to-heart, she noticed that everyone was slowly starting to accept her into the fold. Not that they’d shut her out before- but now, they included her in activities without second thought.

The only thing Charlie was fairly certain about was that Sara was making Zari sit with the rest of the cast at meals. The resentful glares that Zari constantly shot across the table was probably what keyed Charlie into that.

Slowly, Charlie was beginning to figure out just who her new cast mates were. More so than before, where all she really knew came from shoddy Wikipedia articles and interviews where most of them were practically hungover from sheer exhaustion.

There was one night in particular where Charlie finally felt like she could say that she was part of the Legends crew. They’d been on set since six running around the Waverider, executing difficult fight scenes and long, drawn-out monologues. There was an awful lot of action and an awful lot of lines.

Not a good combination, considering it was now three in the morning, the next day. And they were still there, doing take after take of a one-shot scene. Because for some reason, the genius director decided it would be cool to do an extremely long, continuous shot instead of cutting multiple times.

Ordinarily, they would have been done by now. But everyone had been involved in at least three scenes prior to this one, and they’d reached the limits of what they could handle.

Charlie was halfway through her line when she stuttered over the word ‘systematic’.

 _“Bollocks,”_ she cursed.

There was a moment of silence, where Charlie could feel her face begin to flush, and then Nate burst into laughter. “You said bollocks,” he snorted, nearly doubled over. “That’s the most British thing I’ve ever heard come out of your mouth.”

“CUT!”

But the Legends were too busy snickering to notice.

The corners of Sara’s mouth twitched. “You know, Nate’s right,” she said, her blue eyes twinkling. “I was beginning to doubt that you were actually from England. You act so… North American.”

“American, my ass,” Constantine snorted. “She’s a proper Brit if I’ve ever seen one.”

“All right, guys, rein it in a little,” the director chided. “Set for take six.”

After a few seconds of shuffling, the cast rearranged themselves so that they were standing on their starting marks- Charlie on her red mark tape. Just as the director called cut-

 _“Bollocks,”_ Nate whispered, loud enough that both Zari and Charlie, who were standing next to him, could hear.

That was the last straw for Charlie, who, at this point, was practically delirious from all of the running around she’d done on set. She was able to hold her laughter in for only a fraction of a second, before she accidentally made eye contact with Sara across the room.

Then, suddenly, everyone was cracking up. Even Ava couldn’t stop herself, and she was usually the only one who could get through an entire day of filming without having any major flubs or bloopers.

No one could focus. Nate was laughing so hard he was crying. Sara managed to get herself under control, but then Mick let out one of the loudest snorts that Charlie had ever heard- and if there was anyone who hadn’t lost it before, they definitely were laughing now.

Zari had flopped on the floor and curled herself into a ball so tight that all Charlie could see of her head was her ponytail. Charlie felt a momentary pang of concern, but then realized that Zari was laughing so hard that her shoulders were shaking.

No matter how hard the directors tried to move the scene forward, every time they were filming, someone from the cast burst into laughter. It happened to everyone at least once, even though the joke had progressed to the point where it wasn’t even funny anymore.

They were just too delirious to pull it together.

Eventually, after another hour of unnecessary retakes and a lot of shouting on the director’s part, they were able to complete the scene.

“Alright, go home.”

Finally. Charlie was out the door like a shot, jetting over to the Parlour to grab her things before heading outside to wait for a golf cart to take her back to her trailer. But virtually no one was outside, save for a few crew members who were cleaning up the messy outdoor scene they’d shot earlier in the day.

The lot was dark, darker than Charlie thought it would be. And try as she might, she couldn’t help but glance furtively around as she sat on the leather-covered seat of the golf cart, jumping at the shadows that moved across the pavement.

To pass the time, she flipped open her book to a random page, her eyes scanning the words without really taking them in.

She heard the soft thumping of footsteps and she glanced up, knuckles whitening.

But it was only Zari, with her canvas backpack in one hand and water bottle in the other, looking as tired as Charlie felt. Her hair was practically falling out of her bun, and, despite her filming makeup, she looked pale.

Charlie scooted over to make room for her on the back of the cart, and continued reading, hoping against hope that Zari wouldn’t say anything. She had no motivation to deal with Zari’s usual insults and dirty looks.

Thankfully, instead of attempting to make polite conversation, Zari pulled out her own book, thumbing through the pages until she reached the photograph tucked between the pages.

They sat there in quiet, if not tense, silence. It seemed like forever  until the assistant in charge of the golf cart hurried over and drove them back to their trailers.

Charlie was dropped off first. She picked her bag up off the seat and jumped down from the back of the cart, eager to get inside, change out of her costume, and scrub her makeup off her face.

Zari’s voice stopped her just as she had one foot on the bottom step.

“See you tomorrow?”

“Yeah,” Charlie said without turning, her head tilted to the side. “See you tomorrow.”

* * *

  **instagram**

 **_drnheywood:_ ** _loads of british cursing happened on this night. #bollocks #systematic #northamericanbrit?_

_August 10, 2018_

**_tagged:_ ** _cw_legendsoftomorrow_ _  
_ **_location:_ ** _the waverider_

 **_liked by:_ ** _caitsnow, jconstantine, and 73, 205 others._


	8. even when the dark comes crashing through (when you need a friend to carry you)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> charlie bonds with nora, and the legends are forgetful people.

At five in the morning two days later, Charlie was woken up by something buzzing on her nightstand. After fumbling around blearily for a few minutes, she was finally able to locate her phone. The caller ID read ‘Nora Darhk’.

“Hello?”

“I’m really sorry, I know I probably woke you up, I know you had that late night on set the other day, but I didn’t know who else to call. Sara and Zari are on set, and I just-”

“Slow down, love,” Charlie said, sitting up in bed and yanking the chain on her lamp. “Are you alright? Did something happen?”

“I just needed to talk to someone, that’s all,” Nora said after a long pause.

“Want me to come over? Where are you?”

“No, no. I’m just being stupid, I really shouldn’t have called. I think I’m fine now.” But Charlie could tell that Nora wasn’t fine. There was an emotion that was achingly familiar in her voice- she sounded like Charlie, in those old interviews from _The Smell._ Desperate.

Despite Nora’s insistence, Charlie threw the covers back and jumped out of bed, pulling on her comfiest flannel and boots anyway. “Seriously, where are you?”

“Waterfront Park.”

“Great, see you there.”

Nora huffed. “I said I’m _fine._ Go back to sleep, I’m sorry for bothering you. Really, I’ll be okay. I’ll see you in a few hours on set.”

Charlie didn’t answer- she was already halfway out the door.

Twenty minutes later, out of breath after practically sprinting through the entire part, Charlie finally located Nora sitting on a bench that overlooked the water. She flopped onto the bench and shoved the muffin she’d bought on the way there into Nora’s lap.

“For you.”

“I told you I was fine.”

“Well, I was on a run anyway, so I figured I could make a pit stop. Just for you, my work wife,” Charlie said a wink.

Nora stopped unwrapping the muffin and looked Charlie up and down, eyebrows raised. “Your fitness wear of choice is a flannel and Doc Martens? I would almost believe you, considering how heavily you’re breathing, but your clothing choice is a dead giveaway. Nice try.”

Charlie reached over and stole a bit of muffin with a shrug. “I’m starting a new trend. It’s how all the hipsters will be running in a few weeks, just wait and see.”

“Keep telling yourself that, Charl.”

Charlie knew enough to know not to ask Nora about the phone call was really about. Forcing the issue wasn’t the way to go. Instead, she pulled out a scrap of paper she found in her jeans and started folding it into a flower. She could sense Nora’s eyes on the paper and the heaviness in her shoulders. Even though her friend tried to pretend nothing was wrong, Charlie knew that it probably took a lot for Nora to call.

The darkness seeped from the sky as the sun began to rise, turning the dark blue into tangle of pink and blue and yellow, and still neither of them spoke.

That was fine by Charlie. She was never one of deep, emotional conversations- not like the ones the Legends were used to. And yet, even though she’d ben on set for less than two months, she’d ended up having them more than she’d ever had in her life.

It was nice that people cared, but also exhausting.

She pulled out her phone. “I really do have to leave now,” she told Nora, showing her the clock. “Call time for me is, unfortunately, at 7:30. You gonna be alright on your own?”

Nora smiled a little. “I might just come with you, my call time’s at 8:00. Might as well be productive instead of moping around this park.”

They headed back to the entrance, quickly falling into step with one another. “Which way do you want to go?” Charlie asked, stopping at the gates. “I usually walk, but we can taxi or something if you prefer driving instead.”

“No, walking’s fine.”

The walk to the studio was just far enough to feel like exercise, but short enough to enjoy it, which was partially why Charlie chose not to drive. It also gave her an excuse to get to know Star City more intimately, on the ground rather than in a car.

“So, now that you’ve had  few weeks to settle in, how’s work?” Nora asked, as they hurried across an intersection. “Do you like it better now?”

“I do,” Charlie said. And she was surprised to say that it was true. The changes that had been happening between the cast and crew seemed so miniscule, but now that Nora asked about it, Charlie realized that things were better. There was less scrutiny.

“I’m glad, you deserve to enjoy working.”

“I’ve never asked you, what do you think about the Legends?”

Charlie caught the surprise that flitted across Nora’s face before she could school her features. “They’re… intense. Beautiful people, with beautiful hearts. They can just be a little much sometimes. When you’re with them, it’s like… you always have to be happy. You always have to know how you feel, and be willing to share. I struggle with that, but… I know it comes from good intentions.”

“I’m glad I’m not the only one who’s noticed.”

“Sometimes I know I don’t fit in,” Nora admitted after they’d walked another block. “They come from wonderful families, supportive friends… I’m the outlier. And it shows.”

Charlie knew there was a reason why she’d been so inexplicably drawn to Nora in the beginning. This was why- Nora knew what it was like, to be the misfit, to feel like the odd one out. She didn’t have that perfect aura around them like Sara and Ray. Her past was dark, and people knew it.

“Well, at least we can be outliers together,” Charlie said dryly. “I’m Amaya’s replacement, remember?”

Nora shook her head. “You really need to stop comparing yourself to Amaya. I know I said before you two have similar drives, but that’s the only thing you have in common. You are your own person, you’ve made that very clear to everyone else. Just believe it yourself now.”

Momentarily stunned, Charlie couldn’t come up with anything to say after that.

After a few more minutes, the studio came into view, the tops of the buildings peeking out over all others. Even though it was only seven in the morning, the lot was already buzzing with activity as prop managers, cameramen, and actors scurried from place to place.

They reached Nora’s trailer first.

“Have a good day,” Charlie said.

“Hey, wait,” Nora grabbed Charlie’s arm. “Thank you for this morning. I know it probably seemed stupid to you… but it meant a lot to me.”

“No problem, mate. That’s what friends are for. You can call me anytime. I’ll do anything for my work wife.”

Charlie winked at her, which made Nora laugh. “You’re ridiculous.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Even though Nora pretended that to be alright, Charlie hadn’t forgotten the anguished look in her eyes at the park. She was so preoccupied with trying to figure out what was wrong for the rest of the day that she barely registered how quickly time was flying.

Thankfully, none of Charlie’s scenes were extremely deep- they were mostly doing a full-ensemble scene, which meant a lot of waiting around anyway.

Filming went by far too quickly, and before she knew it, the director had wrapped and the actors were dismissed.

“Charlie, you coming?” Ray asked, falling into step next to her.

“What?”

“To trivia night. Did I not-” Ray broke off. “Well, shoot. I meant to invite you, I swear. It was on my mind a few days ago.”

Charlie let Ray flounder a little longer before ending his misery. “Don’t worry about it, mate. It’s not like I have better things to do.”

Ray brightened. “Great! Get your thinking cap on, and meet us just outside the gates of the studio. Just so you know, it’ll last pretty late. And there will be high expectations.”

“Well, I do love myself some good competition.”

“Awesome! See you in a few,” Ray said.

Charlie changed hurriedly back into her street clothes, not wanting to be the last one out to the gates. She wasn’t- surprisingly, that award went to Constantine, even though he was wearing the exact same outfit that he wore every day to work.

“Alright,” Sara called, when a good portion of the cast was gathered by the gate. “This is all we’re expecting, yeah?”

“Correct,” Ava said, consulting her phone. “Judging by what people replied to my message, this should be it.”

“Awesome. We’ll divide into teams once we get there,” Sara decided, setting off down the street. Everyone else followed her down the sidewalk, messing around and chatting.

“So, how does this work?” Charlie asked Ray.

“Basically, Oliver Queen, from Arrow,  hosts trivia in his bar for all of the DC shows about once a month. We divide into teams based on cast, and whoever gets the most questions right gets to make the other casts film an embarrassing video and post it on Instagram.”

“Ah.”

“It’s a lot of fun, there’s good food and drinks. The other casts are looking forward to meeting you, but don’t let them intimidate you.”

“That’s reassuring,” Charlie said sarcastically.

Ray just grinned. “You’ll have fun, just wait and see.”

* * *

  **instagram**

 **_darhkness:_ ** _to all normal brits, do you really run in flannel? #idoubtit #charlieyouliar_

_August 14, 2018_

**_tagged:_ ** _charlieeeee_ _  
_ **_location:_ ** _waterfront park, star city_

 **_liked by:_ ** _saaraalaance, charlieeeee, and 59,441 others._


	9. a bend in the road (is not the end)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> trivia night with our favorites! are zari and charlie actually going to start getting along?

Oliver Queen greeted the cast at the door of Verdant. It was decorated to look like an industrial building, but inside was fully outfitted with brightly colored lights and modern furniture. 

“It’s good to see you,” he said, greeting Sara with a warm hug. “Head on in, Team Flash is in there already. We’re still waiting on Team Supergirl.”

The rest of the Legends filtered past Oliver, each one giving him a handshake or a wave. Oliver paused when Charlie passed him. 

“You’re the new one,” he said, his expression shifting from friendly to guarded. “Charlie, right?”

She stuck out her hand. “Should I be flattered or afraid that you look like you’re about to kill me?” she asked, raising her eyebrows. 

Oliver smirked. “I’ve heard a lot about you. I look forward to getting to know you better,” he said, dodging the question. “Enjoy yourself tonight.”

Charlie still wasn’t sure what that meant, but slipped past Oliver to join the other Legends, who were seated at one of the long tables. 

“Alright, you guys, as always, we’re going to divide into two teams,” Sara announced, leaning forward, her elbows on the table. Her eyes scanned the other cast members. “Team one… Constantine, Ray, Ava, and myself. Team two, Nora, Nate, Zari, and Charlie.”

_ Bollocks.  _ Of course Sara would put the two people who hated each other on the same team. Charlie sighed deeply, mentally preparing herself for an evening of jibes and side comments. 

She slid a whiteboard down the table to Nate. 

“I’m going to let you guys figure out your strategies- just remember, we want to beat the other casts, not each other.”

Charlie followed Nate, Nora, and Zari over to another table. After ordering drinks- beer for Nate, whiskey for Charlie, rum and coke for Nora, and lemonade for Zari- they brainstormed team names.

“We could do something Legends related,” Nora offered. “I mean, we’ve done that before. But it’s always a good go-to.”

“Like, Legendary,” Nate said, grinning widely. Zari groaned.

“Don’t bring up your  _ How I Met Your Mother  _ obsession, Nate.”

“Or ‘ZiNNC’. Because our initials almost spell zinc,” Charlie suggested. 

Zari and Nate exchanged glances, having some sort of non-verbal conversation. Then, Zari grabbed the marker and scribbled ‘ZiNNC’ on the namecard and the answer sheet. Underneath, she wrote ‘ _ zari, nate & nora, charlie’. _

“So, we know that Nora loves all the magic/obscure fact stuff, and I know a good deal about history,” Nate said, spinning the marker around in his hands. “Zari’s good at science and true crime. What’re you well-versed in?”

“Art, literature. I majored in literature in university,” Charlie said. 

“That’s why Sara gave you to us,” Nora said, snapping her fingers. “She likes to spread out the strengths as much as possible.”

Thea, Oliver’s sister, brought over the drinks, without even needing to ask who to give each one to. She gave Charlie a nod. “Welcome, new girl.”

“Thanks.”

The door opened, sending sunlight spilling into the bar. In walked some of the Supergirl cast members- Kara, Alex, J’onn, and Brainiac. 

Sara walked over, tilting her head to the side to see the name on the scorecard. “Nice team name. Listen, we lost last time. I do  _ not  _ want to film another video in onesies, so please, make good choices, team.”

“Aye aye, captain!” Charlie saluted. Sara rolled her eyes.

Once the Supergirl cast had gotten their strategy sorted out and picked their team name, Oliver clapped his hands together.

“We’re going to get started. Today, since we have two teams from Flash and Legends, Arrow and Supergirl will be working together,” he said from his seat on the bar. He pulled out a giant binder, brimming with papers. “Let’s get started.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To Charlie’s surprise, trivia night wasn’t as awkward as she’d been anticipating. Having Nate and Nora act as a buffer had been a smart move on Sara’s part. If Charlie had been forced to be on a team alone with Zari, she didn’t know what would happen.

It helped that there was a significant amount of alcohol involved, for most cast members. But the most alcoholic thing Zari drank the entire night was lemonade.

She made a note to ask Zari later, maybe when they weren’t at odds all the time. She decided to stop drinking herself after an hour or two because of a scene in the morning. At least, that was what she told herself. It was  _ not  _ because of Zari. 

ZiNNC ended up being one of the better teams of the night. Even Sara, Ava, Constantine, and Ray ended up getting a few questions wrong. Of course, the Flash team consisting of Caitlin, Cecile, Joe, and Barry was the other powerhouse. 

“The current forerunners are Law and Order and ZiNNC,” Oliver announced a few hours into the game. “There are three more rounds left, in case the other teams want to make any big moves.”

“Yeah, like they were getting all those questions wrong on purpose,” Zari called over to Ray, a wide grin on her face.

“No one asked you, Tomaz!” Ray answered, feigning anger. 

The next round of questions were mainly science oriented, which Zari excelled at. Nora pitched in the answers to a few chemistry questions. Charlie was able to help with a few questions about ecology, but knew nothing about genetics and coding.

After that, there was around on pop culture, which turned out to be ZiNNC’s downfall. None of them were very good at the entertainment categories- they were too nerdy. Of all of them, Nora was the best simply because she loved researching random topics. If the questions had been more about British pop culture, Charlie would have been able to pitch in some answers, but American pop culture was something she was still trying to catch up on. Nate was too obsessed over the history books to really care, and Zari’s knowledge was limited to new video games.

As a result, Team Flash was able to beat them by a few points. Sara came over between rounds.

“You guys are doing great,” she said. 

“Wow, encouragement?” Zari raised her eyebrows. 

“But you need to  _ win,”  _ Sara finished. “What were you doing, giving up all those questions last round? Do you not get out at all?”

“And there it is,” Zari threw her hands up in the air. 

“To be fair, we are on set eight-ish months of the year,” Nate reminded Sara. “And don’t think I didn’t hear Oliver announce  _ your  _ score, captain.”

“That’s beside the point. I’m counting on you guys to get us through this mess,” Sara said, waving Nate’s accusation away with one hand. “Keep doing whatever you were doing. Or else.”

The next round didn’t go  _ horribly.  _ But it could have gone better. Oliver decided to pull out the random animal trivia questions, the kind of questions that no one ever knew the answer to. All the teams had to resort to guessing, even the Flash team. 

“Final round!” Oliver announced.

“Alright, guys, we better win,” Nate said, rubbing his hands together. 

Once Oliver read the questions, the team got to work, picking apart the question phrasing and attempting to hide their answers from the others. 

“I honestly think the thirteenth person to stand up from the table in the third Harry Potter was Trelawney,” Nate insisted.

Charlie opened her mouth, ready to refute what Nate was saying, but surprisingly enough, Zari beat her to it.

“Actually, the thirteenth person to stand up from the table was Dumbledore,” she said, turning to Charlie for confirmation. “Right?”

“Um, yeah,” Charlie said, shocked that Zari was actually consulting her on something. “Z’s right, because of the Animagus.”

“I would trust them,” Nora said to Nate. “I learned the hard way not to mess with the uber-Harry Potter geeks.”

“Alright, alright,” Nate agreed, scribbling down ‘Dumbledore’ on the paper. “Next question…”

Just as Charlie was turning her attention back to the sheet, she caught Zari’s eye. And to her surprise, instead of glaring, Zari gave her a half smile before looking away. 

“TIME’S UP!” Oliver declared a few minutes later. “Hands away from your papers. I’m going to be collecting them and tallying your scores.”

Nate, Nora, Charlie, and Zari stepped away from their sheet.

“Good job, team,” Nate said, with a deep sigh. “Bring it in.”

Charlie’s first instinct was to back away, but Nate caught her and drew her into the group hug. They were squished, the four of them. Charlie’s face was inches away from Zari’s ponytail, and Nora practically disappeared in the middle.

The hug only lasted a few seconds before Zari extracted herself. “As much as I love you people, you reek of alcohol, and I can’t breathe.”

Charlie had to agree.

The other Legends cast came over, and suddenly their little team became twice as loud as people began to discuss the answers they’d written down.

A few minutes later, Oliver climbed onto the bar, sheet of paper in hand. “Your attention please! The victory tonight goes to…”

**instagram**

**_ztomaz:_ ** _ team ZiNNC, all day, every day. #champions _

_ August 14, 2018 _

**_tagged:_ ** _ drnheywood, darhkness, charlieeeee _ _   
_ **_location:_ ** _ verdant _

**_liked by:_ ** _ darhkness, amayajiwe, and 138,711 others.  _

**Author's Note:**

> if you have questions/prompts/whatever you want to talk to me about, you can check out my tumblr, darkdisrepair. 
> 
> i'd love to talk to you, even though i have no idea how to tumblr. they say you learn quicker by jumping in the deep end, right?


End file.
